Various techniques exist for computing paths between geographical localities. As examples, BING® MAPS, GOOGLE® MAPS, and MAPQUEST® are online services that receive an origin and destination and compute paths from the origin to the destination. In all three cases, however, directions are provided in terms of turn-by-turn directions.
Turn-by-turn directions are directions suitable for people who are familiar with reading maps or who reside in developed areas where all streets have names. However, in some areas, e.g., in some developing countries, not all streets have street names. Moreover, many people in these areas do not think of directions in terms of streets, distances, and turns.